MFP question about the lifestyle option

mad00had00
mad00had00 Posts: 103 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hey there,

I have a question for y'all. You know when you sign up they ask u if you're active or sit all day long (I think they out it as a sedentary lifestyle). Anyway I chose that I have a sedentary lifestyle, but I do walk everyday EXCEPT Sunday and I do it for 100mins+ /6.5miles a day. I still have it set to a sedentary lifestyle. Do I keep it there or change it to somewhat active (the second setting)... Because every time I lose weight the sedentary settings keeps going lower and lower.

Your input would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Replies

  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    I keep mine on sedentary and then log my exercise. I like to know what my base calories are for those days when life gets in the way and I don't do anything extra.
  • erinkeely4
    erinkeely4 Posts: 408 Member
    I also keep mine on sedentary, and log my walks as exercise. I even log house cleaning as exercise, as it's not a sedentary activity.
  • mad00had00
    mad00had00 Posts: 103 Member
    bump
  • iWaffle
    iWaffle Posts: 2,208 Member
    every time I lose weight the sedentary settings keeps going lower and lower.

    The less you weigh, the less calories it takes to move around and do things. Your calorie goal should be updated every 5 lbs or so to keep it accurate.

    I just pick sedentary and log calories burned from any walks/cardio as extra. It seems to be the simplest for me.
  • mad00had00
    mad00had00 Posts: 103 Member
    Yeah I get the first part. I just thought I may be doing it wrong.
  • Mathguy1
    Mathguy1 Posts: 207 Member
    Your "lifestlye" refers to your work "lifestyle"; it does not refer to your "workout lifestyle".

    Sit behind a desk all day = "Sedentary".
    Move around a lot for your JOB ="Moderate".
    Does your job require a lot of physical exersion? (Work construction? Lift a lot for a warehouse job? Does your job feel like a workout? etc) Then set it at "Very active".

    I do not remember the exact names for the activity level settings, but you get the idea.

    Based on which setting you select, MFP will give you a different allotment of calories. The reason is that you burn more calories each day(before considering exercise) based on the higher the activity level your job requires.

    I think it was a poor choice of wording. I think "Lifestyle at work" or "Work routine" or "Activity level at work" would of been a better choice than "Lifestyle".
  • mad00had00
    mad00had00 Posts: 103 Member
    BUMP..


    Guys does doing cardio 5-6times/week for around 85 minutes count as sedentary or lightly active?
  • butterflygurl89
    butterflygurl89 Posts: 45
    BUMP..


    Guys does doing cardio 5-6times/week for around 85 minutes count as sedentary or lightly active?

    As pretty much everyone is saying, if a guy is doing cardio 5 - 6 times a week but is, say, cubicle worker, then he would set his lifestyle as sedentary and LOG the cardio exercise. Don't count work-outs as part of your lifestyle. What if you get sick and don't do them for a week? Just log them on the days you do them. MFP will take that into account and change your calorie allotment accordingly.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    BUMP..


    Guys does doing cardio 5-6times/week for around 85 minutes count as sedentary or lightly active?

    Mathguy1 answered your question before you asked it !!

    There are two mainstream ways of using MFP:
    1/ Set your activity according to the MFP settings (lifestyle not exercise routine), then eat back your exercise calories to maintain the deficit MFP works out for you.
    2/ Work out your TDEE (including your routine exercise/activity) and then take off 10 or 20% from that figure and customise your calorie target settings accordingly. (Search for roadmap.)

    I choose #1 because my exercise varies a huge amount from day to day and week to week.
  • mad00had00
    mad00had00 Posts: 103 Member
    Thanks! Basically keeping it sedentary and eating back the exercise calories.

    I didnt know MFP already puts us on a deficit (with everything worked out already). I just thought eating back the exercise calories would be counter productive tbh.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Thanks! Basically keeping it sedentary and eating back the exercise calories.

    I didnt know MFP already puts us on a deficit (with everything worked out already). I just thought eating back the exercise calories would be counter productive tbh.

    The MFP deficit is worked out on the rule of thumb that a 3500 deficit is required to burn a pound of fat.

    If you select "lose one pound a week" then MFP will set your daily deficit at 500/day. 500/day = 3500/week.

    Worth trying that for a month and see what your results are. If it works be happy, if it doesn't then you can customise your settings.
  • butterflygurl89
    butterflygurl89 Posts: 45
    Now you're on the right track! Yes, MFP puts us on a pre-designed defecit. And you don't *have* to eat back exercise calories if you don't feel you need to. I tend to eat back *some*, but extra calorie burn means extra weight off. ;)

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